It was beautiful day at Latrobe yesterday as the rain (for the most part) held off, and the Steelers continued to prepare for their first pre-season game of the 2014 season. The Steelers will travel to New York to play the Giants on Saturday night. Here’s some of the some observations I made watching practice yesterday.
*Bumped into Carnell Lake before practice began, and Lake just happened to be my favorite player from the 90’s teams. I gotta tell you, Mr. Lake looks like he could still play in the league.
*Got the impression from the atmosphere and tempo of the practice, that the team is very much looking towards Saturday. Things were pretty loose, and the practice itself was not particularly physical. The Steelers sat out several players including Ryan Shazier, Steve McClendon, Lance Moore, Jarvis Jones, and Ramon Foster.
*Wide receiver Justin Brown dazzled the packed house by catching six punted balls without allowing any of them to hit the ground. Antonio Brown followed, but was only able to get five.
*Speaking of wide receivers, rookie Dri Archer spent his time drilling with the group, and looked very comfortable catching passes in various drills. The kid is explosive and you can see why the Steelers believe he can make an immediate impact. Archer also spent a good amount of time catching punts yesterday, and you would have to believe if the Steelers would love to utilize him in that capacity. As great as Brown has been in the return game, it would make sense to keep your top WR from such dangerous duties if possible.
Brown had another exceptional day yesterday, and he seems ready to have another big year for the Steelers. Between consistently shining on the practice field, he took time to have some fun interaction with the crowd throughout.
Markus Wheaton had an up-and-down day. Impressive in drills, and you can see the progress he has made from year one to year two. He’s extremely quick out of his breaks and runs polished routes. The Steelers are looking for big things from Wheaton, and they will need him. The flip is he had two Limas Sweed-like drops on beautiful bombs from Ben Roethlisberger. If he can fix that, he can eventually be an upgrade over Emmanuel Sanders.
Martavis Bryant has some “shock and awe” to his game. He’s raw, and he got a serious earful from offensive coordinator Todd Haley at one point for running the wrong route. If he can figure it out, he could be a really nice player, but it’s going to take time. Local product Derek Moye is going to have an uphill climb making the team this year.
*Going to be very interesting to see who emerges in the race to be Heath Miller’s backup at TE. Michael Spaeth should be fine, but it was telling that Mike Tomlin seemed to be spending a good bit of time focusing his attention on this group. Rob Branchflower might have trouble getting a roster spot in a battle with David Paulson, Michael Palmer and rookie Eric Waters.
*Depth on the offensive line might be a real concern. I have to say that Mike Adams still looks shaky in pass protection, and you have to start wondering if the Steelers are losing all faith that Adams can be a starter in the league. With his poor lateral quickness and footwork, you almost wonder if he should start getting some reps at guard.
I can’t say enough about what a major impact Mike Munchak is going to have on this group. Loved watching him interact with the players, and you can’t minimize how big it is to not only have Hall of Fame player coaching them up, but a guy with NFL head coaching experience, too.
*Not sure how he makes the final roster, but safety Jordan Dangerfield looked solid yesterday. He’s known for being a heavy hitter, but I spent some time watching him in coverage in 11 on 11’s, and I thought he looked capable. He might be a guy the Steelers stash on the practice squad.
*The Steelers have a lot of talent at LB. Sean Spence got work with the first team initially in 11 on 11’s, and he looked great, though he did get beat by Heath Miller on a 20-yard out route at one point. Vince Williams, who started 11 games as a rookie last season, looks really strong also. So much depth at inside linebacker, it’s a real strength of this team.
*Was told that punter Adam Podlesh is still not at camp due to his wife going through a difficult pregnancy. Prayers to he and his wife. I must say that this gives former LSU standout Brad Wing an inside track and opportunity to lock down that job. Wing was tremendous in college, so it would be a big plus if he can handle the job.
*Serious questions behind RB’s Le’Veon Bell and LeGarrette Blount. At one point in 11 on 11’s, the Steelers had three fumbles in five running plays. Who is going to emerge behind Bell and Blount is still very much in the air.
*I thought quarterback Landry Jones had a pretty solid day. Jones got a lot of reps and for the most part, was fairly accurate with his throws. Roethlisberger looks primed for another big year and had a very solid practice.
*It will interesting to see how the defensive line comes together this season. Stephon Tuitt is an animal, and he has a really good chance of being a starter as a rookie, a rarity for the Steelers defense. This will be a key area for the Steelers, as the rush defense was not where it needed to be in 2013.
The Steelers will be having a joint practice with the Buffalo Bills next Wednesday at Latrobe. Look for my live reports for Pittsburgh Sporting News by following me on Twitter @GarBercury!
